i noticed that pretty much everybody on this forum believes that a stock Z is capable of high 13s. Im not saying that u guys are lying, but how come magazines such as car and driver have the Z's 1/4 time in the 14.3 range?

 

cuz they have one shot at it pretty much, whereas people here can learn different techniques for launching and stuff to reduce the time.

 

beacuse car and driver magazine drivers suck...their times are always lower than owner times, maybe it's beacuse they only have it for a week or two and never really get to know the car....maybe elevation conditions...but their times are never better than owner times...i used to have a celica and they rated it at 15.4 stock...but there have been owners who have gotten down to 14.9 stock (with time slips to prove it at newcelica.org).

point is...mag drivers suck....lol

 

We’ve discussed this several times. I have an advantage over a magazine driver because I practice. Weather and track conditions are also important. On bad days, I can toss my 14.2 second times slips in the trash. On good days I can run better than 14.0 seconds.

 

Motor Trend ran a 13.77 in a 350Z.

 

Hey on the 2nd timeslip posted, the car on the left did a 13.7 @ 96mph..i dont understand how he did the 1/4 mile in less seconds and at a slower mph than you? I thought that the less seconds you do the 1/4 mile the faster the speed.

 

I don't think thats the case. These guys do this for a living so I'm sure they know how to drive and adapt to different cars very quicky. But of course some company test drivers are better than others. I think it's more of a safeguard with marketing. If a I.E. "Car and Driver" state that they ran the 350Z at 13.9 but consumers are hitting 14.2 that might cause some confusion with credibility. Of course "we" know it comes down to the driver. In a sense it's like lying to customers so they feel better about themselves. Just my .02.

 

That's a good question. How about posting in “drag racing.”

 

don't forget all the key factors like weather,elevation, etc etc..

 

Miko, good question. Generally the faster you do the 1/4 mile, the higher your trap speed would be. This isn't always the case though as seen above. Look at the 60' times - this is pretty much how well you launch the car. Notice the driver with the slower trap speed but the faster 1/4 mile has a much faster 60' - by almost .21 seconds! This is why launches are so important in the 1/4 mile and why cars with the AWD launch like the Evo/STI own the Z in the 1/4 mile but the Z walks them on the freeway (stock vs stock). So at the beginning of the 1/4 mile for the second timeslip above, car 1 gets a much better launch than car 2 and pulls ahead. At the end of the 1/4 mile, car 1 is still ahead but car 2 is definitely catching up - hench the higher trap speed. What kind of car were you racing , davidv?

 

Ah i got it. Thanks for clearing that up...makes alot more sense now.

 

Thanks for asking. I have a hundred time slips in an envelope: I cant remember what I was racing.

 

Magazine drivers aren't really "drivers," they're writers or editors.

 

I ran 13.77 @ 101.4 over 1 year before they did stock! My first run EVER was a 13.80 @ 100.8 witha crappy 2.16 60ft. I have never run into the 14's with the Z. Last launch on street tires was my worst ever 60ft-2.2 and I went 13.5 @ 106mph. BTW many magazines have 1 or 2 test drivers, so yes they are decent drivers, they just dont powershift, or shift in a way that I think somebody trying to drag should....I so wish I would have taken my stock Z to Cecil, I guarantee 13.5 with a 2.0 60ft there on a decent weather day.

 

best i did stock was 13.8 stock, but that was with my slow non powershifting. Magazines give really misleading times on all cars. I would love to be a magazine test driver, what an awesome job...

 

yes i know i am a noob, but what's powershifting

 

Shifting while holding your foot on the gas, you just push the clutch in quickly at redline to shift. WHen done correctly there is no hesitation, no loss of momentum when shifting. Click the 1/4 video link in my signature to hear what it sounds like going down the track, Im the loud a$$ DB Z

 

Car and Driver actually does a lot of their 1/4 mile test runs at California Speedway which is one of the slowest tracks out there.
High Elevation, Experience in Driving the car, weather conditions, traction....the list goes on and on.
A Z driver running 13.8 stock on one track would probably run 14.2 at Cali Speedway as an example....
I have all sorts of different timeslips from different tracks with dramatic differences in ET's and MPH.

 

My AWD 95 VR4 ran a 13.79 at 100...LOL, Even though TT V6 the AWD is the only reason the time is low, at the end of the 1/4 whatever I was racing that was running a little slower time but faster trap was creeping back up to me...it kind of sucks, I hated smashing 1st and 2nd and being 3-4 cars ahead, then at the end of the 1/4 I was down to 1-2 ahead, LOL....I miss that damn car, it felt faster then it was, like a rocket!

 

Stock 350z Manual Can Hit 13.7 .... Im Sick Of All These Wannabees Talking Out Of Magazines..get Out There And Run Ur Car!!!